O'Neill and Keane leave Republic roles

Manager Martin O’Neill and his assistant Roy Keane have parted company with the Republic of Ireland.

The pair took over the reins in 2013 and guided the Republic to the last 16 of the 2016 European Championships.

However, they did not win a game in 2018 and were relegated from Nations League Group B4 after finishing bottom.

“I thank Martin, Roy, and the management team for the impact they had,” said Football Association of Ireland (FAI) chief John Delaney.

“There have been many highlights during Martin’s reign – none more so than Euro 2016 in France, which will live long in the memory of all Irish supporters.”

Speaking after Monday’s scoreless draw in Denmark, O’Neill indicated that he wanted to remain in the job.

“I always have enthusiasm for the job but I’ll speak with John and we’ll see,” he said.

“I speak to him after games. I think I’ll probably be sharing the same flight home with him.

“If I don’t do that there I’ll have a conversation with him in the next few days or whenever it may be and it’s always been the case.”

The 0-0 draw in Aarhus means O’Neill’s team has now gone four matches without scoring a goal and the Republic, ranked 33rd in the world, failed to win a competitive match in 2018.

O’Neill handed international debuts to 12 players this year as the former Leicester, Sunderland and Celtic manager looked to build his squad for the start of the Euro 2020 qualifying campaign.

The Republic will be among the third seeds for the European qualifiers following their relegation to Nations League C and it appears that the team’s poor form and the dwindling attendances at the Aviva Stadium have prompted the FAI to take action.